Performance of new silica aerogels in a threshold Cerenkov counter

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the performance of newly developed highly transparent, hydrophobic silica aerogels as radiators in a threshold Cerenkov counter, demonstrating their potential for particle detection applications.

Contribution

It introduces new silica aerogels with specific refractive indices and assesses their effectiveness in a Cerenkov counter setup for the first time.

Findings

High photoelectron yields achieved with new aerogels

Counter performance meets design expectations

Potential for improved particle detection efficiency

Abstract

New highly transparent, hydrophobic silica aerogels with refractive indices of 1.01 to 1.07 have been produced by Aspen Aerogels, Inc., and select tiles have been tested using an electron beam at the DESY, Hamburg facility. A diffusively-reflective threshold Cerenkov counter was designed and constructed for the purpose of evaluating the aerogels, and can accommodate aerogel tile areas of up to 20 cm by 20 cm. Measurements of the performance of the counter using the new aerogels as Cerenkov radiators are given in terms of photoelectron yields and a figure of merit.